


K.I.S.S.I.N.G.

by Shi_Toyu



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, BAMF Bucky Barnes, BAMF Clint Barton, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Bogeyman Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Crushes, Gift Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute, Secret Crush, Secret Identity, Snipers, Teasing, asshole friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 16:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13930983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: Bucky's finally going to talk to his crush today. He will. Absolutely.





	K.I.S.S.I.N.G.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [araydre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/araydre/gifts).



> Happy birthday to araydre, you precious dear!

The building was empty, a current construction project on hold. The lack of people was exactly what the sandy blond-haired man was counting on. No witnesses that way. His gear was in a big plastic bucket and he was wearing a white painter’s coveralls over his tac gear. The watch on his wrist said he was right on time.

.

Bucky scowled as a woman jogging with a baby stroller passed by him, headphones in and not a care in the world. Hadn’t she any idea what could happen out in a place like this? Central Park was a popular place, sure, but it was just as popular after dark… by less-than-friendly individuals. The sun was creeping down toward the horizon and Bucky was willing to bet she hadn’t driven a car here. That meant either a long walk or a ride on the subway with that stroller involved. It would be better for her to get an early start.

A twitch of the blackened fingers of Bucky’s left hand and silver magic swirled through the air, invisible to the oblivious mortals around them, to encircle the woman before sinking into her skin. Bucky watched as she stumbled slightly, glancing over her shoulder with a pinched brow. His lips twitched upward, in what could almost be considered a smile, as she turned down one of the paths that would lead her directly out of the park.

.

The windows on the 30th floor hadn’t been put in yet, just another reason why he’d chosen this location. It was always a bother to have to fire two shots, or to aim to compensate for the one shot breaking the glass. Besides, the exposure made it easier to judge things like wind speed and direction. These things had to be calculated perfectly. He set the bucket holding his equipment down and pushed a table up against one of the window’s openings so he could lay down on it. Gotta keep everything steady… It would be disastrous if he missed and messed this up.

.

Fear, Bucky had decided more than a few centuries ago, was one of the most misunderstood tools that humans were given. Back in the middle ages, he’d gotten quite the terrible reputation when his powers had been running rampant and out of control. People didn’t understand. The Bogeyman wasn’t the only source of fear in the world. He simply fed on it and was able to twist and give it to others. Some held too tight and the fear consumed them. Some used it as an excuse and a shield against things they didn’t want to do.

But fear- Fear was a _teacher_. It was a protector trying to keep humans from harm. Without fear of pain, children would never learn to stay away from a hot stove. Fear was what had taught man long ago about which animals to stay away from. Fear kept people from getting too close to the perilous edge. At least, most of the time. That was the intent.

Fear was nothing to be afraid of.

Which, Bucky supposed, was advice he should probably be taking himself. With good humor from sending the jogging mother home, he strolled along the paths of Central Park and closer to his destination. This had become a routine of sorts, something he wasn’t exactly proud of. It’d just been a long time since he’d found someone to connect to. It was impressive, really, that his attention had been captured at all. One of these days, he might even get up the courage to tell the human what he truly was. Of course, that probably meant he’d have to talk to the man first. But, if all went to plan, at least that step would be taken care of today.

.

Table all set, he returned to the bucket that held his rifle. It wasn’t his preferred piece of equipment, but New York was a bit on the windy side today and he wasn’t willing to leave anything to chance. Slowly, methodically, he pulled out each piece and assembled it. The silencer came last, screwing into place over the barrel of the gun. It was a familiar weight in his hands as he climbed up onto the table and lay across the surface, using the sight to scan the green expanse of park below.

.

Bucky perked up as he saw the familiar figure up ahead. The brunette was right where he always was, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 PM, buying a pair of street dogs from Stan’s Dogs hotdog cart. Bucky told himself it wasn’t creepy at all to know that the order consisted of one dog with nothing but mustard and onions while the other was loaded to the brim with every topping the vendor had excluding olives.

The man doing the buying was a bit on the shorter side for a human, but carried himself as if he were larger than life. A handsome face sported artfully-styled facial hair that framed full, pouty lips that Bucky had dreamed about more than once. Whiskey gold eyes looked warm and cheery today as their owner chatted with the cart owner, such a more relieving sight than the fear and anxiety that sometimes lurked in their depths. More than just a few times, Bucky had wished for the ability to take fear away.

.

The sniper shifted a bit on his elbows, adjusting the rifle as he followed along one of the winding trails with his viewfinder. It wasn’t hard to spot the one he was looking for. Dressed all in black with his shoulder-length hair pulled up in a messy bun, the Bogeyman stood out from the mere mortals enjoying the evening’s mild temperatures, if only because of the magic that swirled and danced around him. He was clearly oblivious to his watcher, though, all of his attention focused on a mortal about 50 feet away, just turning away from a hotdog cart.

The sniper’s finger curled to rest gently on the rifle’s trigger.

.

Bucky barely spared a glance over toward the human’s, _Tony’s_ , usual bench, already knowing Tony’s friend would be sitting there waiting for him. Today is the day, he told himself, heart pounding in his chest as he forced his feet to take more steps forward.

.

A glance at the flag he’d planted earlier for any last-second adjustments to his aim. His target was in his sights. There was no backing out now.

.

Tony was still looking back at the cart, shouting a goodbye to the vendor, when Bucky stepped into his path. He hadn’t felt this nervous in _ages_ , not since the Roman Empire at the very least.

.

He pulled the trigger, felt the kickback of the rifle against his shoulder, and was already moving. He rolled off the table, already disassembling the gun and tossing the pieces back into their bucket. It was time to get moving. He couldn’t be caught here. Actually, it might be good to find a place to hide out for a while.

.

Tony’s head was just turning back, his gaze connecting with Bucky’s and going wide with surprise, when time seemed to slow. Bucky saw it all happening in technicolor, though there was nothing he could do to stop it. The bullet, glowing with purple magic, came out of nowhere, slamming into Tony’s back and dropping him like a rock. The hotdogs hit the ground as Bucky only just barely managed to catch Tony in his arms. His own fear pulsed low in his gut as his hand swept over Tony’s back, looking for a wound that wasn’t there.

“Shit, wow, that’s just embarrassing. I am so sorr-Oh.” Tony’s abashed smile slid of his face as he lifted his head to meet Bucky’s gaze. A blush painted his cheeks prettily. “Wow. Hi. I think you might just be the most gorgeous person I’ve ever seen.”

In the depths of Tony’s eyes, Bucky could just barely make out the purple magic that’d coated the bullet. His hands tightened around the human’s arm as he righted them both, neither paying attention to Tony’s friend who was hovering just off to the side, clearly not sure whether to get involved or not. Bucky knew exactly what that purple magic meant. He knew exactly who had done this.

He was going to _kill_ Clint.

.

Natasha arched one perfectly-plucked eyebrow at him as she opened the door.

“And what, exactly, are _you_ looking so smug about, Cupid?”

Clint just grinned at her and sashayed inside, singing merrily as he went.

“Bucky and Tony, sittin’ in a tree,

K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

First comes love, then comes marriage,

Then comes Bogey pushing the baby carriage!”

He cackled merrily as he skipped further into the house, heading to the kitchen to make himself a snack. Not even the Bogeyman would bring a fight to Baba Yaga’s turf.


End file.
